Tell Me Something Good: Service Leadership Class At Heritage Hall

If you think high school students are only concerned about Facebook and fashion, Scott Martin says you need to think again.

"I think there's a hunger in young people to do good in the world."

Martin's new class at Heritage Hall is proof.

"The class is built around this idea of what are the issues, what are the things that are going on, who's involved in it already, and then how can you get involved in it ," he said.

Students in the Service Leadership class must identify an issue and take action.

"The idea is that you have to create a real world project that could really make a difference," Martin said.

Maddy Saldivar hopes to build better communities by building stronger families. She calls it the Share Better Stories Project. Saldivar says it begins with getting families to sit down and eat meals together.

"The cookbook shares the stories behind the meals, but most importantly the stories behind the families," she said. "So it encourages more families to share better meals."

Ashlyn Colbert wants to help children aging out of Oklahoma's foster care system.

"About 500 kids age out every year," Colbert said.

Statistics show 18-year olds usually end up in trouble or in jail. Her Trajectory Project will help them after they leave the system.

"The opportunity can be anything from job training, to college application, to finishing high school, to job applications, to whatever they need help on," she said.

Abbi Hirsekorn wants to help women forced into human trafficking. She knows Oklahoma City is a hub of activity.

"I couldn't believe anyone would have a life that difficult when I've had so many blessings," she said.

Her Journey Project is based on White Fields, a non-profit agency helping abused and neglected boys begin a new life.

"We would go out in the community and rescue these women," Hirsekorn said.

Martin says part of the class curriculum is real world experience.

"We've filled out paperwork for non-profit forms for the state, they've got blogs, they've done public service announcements, they've done professional presentations in front of real community folk, in front of real funders and those kinds of things."

Martin is confident the next generation is ready to step up.

"There's something in this generation, I've heard it a thousand times, that the kids these days really want to get into the community and makes things better, make it a better place for everyone."